Pride Month in Focus: Rainbow Labs

June 9, 2023 

In recognition of Pride Month, we’re highlighting members of our network that are working to support the LGBTQ+ community through sport. Read our interview with Luis Vaquez, Co-founder of Rainbow Labs. The US organization is on a mission to address the unique challenges faced by queer and gender non-conforming youth (QGNC), ensuring that they see themselves as co-creators of an equitable, inclusive and progressive society.  

The concept of Rainbow Labs was created in 2020 by Jacob Toups and Vasquez, who have both experienced the unique challenges faced by LGBTQ+ people. Bullying and the lack of supportive environments inspired them to create the organization – a supportive safe space for LGBTQ+ youth to find and connect with their community and to be empowered to take control of their futures. 

The Los Angeles-based organization has a goal to provide all queer and gender nonconforming youth across the US with access to its safe and affirming mentoring programs. Its programs span empowering youth voices, evidence-based research around youth development and mental health as well as trauma-informed care. 

Vasquez spoke to us about the power and benefit of sport for youth, particularly LGBTQ+ youth, as well as his thoughts on the current challenges faced by LGBTQ+ youth and what we can do to help.

Vaquez (left) and Toups (right)

What does Rainbow Labs do?

Rainbow Labs creates serialized after-school programming (in-person and online) to mentor and support underserved QGNC youth aged 12-18. Lab content is designed for and by QGNC youth, led by a team of mentors who are trained in trauma-informed care, cultural competency and youth development. They are a safe space to explore identity, life skills and empower QGNC to participate in real-world applications.

We are youth voice-centered so that all our youth have the opportunity to support creating new lab ideas and provide ongoing feedback on existing labs. We also pull from the latest evidence-based research to support our programming methodology. The research focuses on mentoring, youth development, mental health and supportive services to guide our theory of change. And trauma-informed care is part of the delivery of all our programs, from how we train our mentors to the kinds of programming we offer. We know mentoring can have amplifying effects when we build the foundation on these types of concepts.

How are you working to expand inclusive spaces for LGBTQ+ youth in sports? 

We want to develop a culture where Rainbow Labs can support, train and uplift youth development practitioners. By making sports more inclusive for LGBTQ+ athletes, we make it more inclusive for all.

We're currently partnering with a few sponsors and local youth development organizations to help expand the reach of our LGBTQ+ Sports Labs and awareness initiative with the launch of five yearly sports labs across Los Angeles County. We intend for the Labs to bring awareness of the LGBTQ community's involvement in and love of sports while bringing LGBTQ+ and Allies together. Rainbow Labs also collaborates with LGBTQ+ adult sports leagues and adult sports organizations to lead sessions. Visibility is vital to ensuring that youth see themselves in older athletes. "If they look like me, I can be them."

Who else do you collaborate with?   

We work with elected officials, sponsors, key stakeholders and local communities to ensure that funding is available to continue sports labs across the county. Our partners continue to build upon the practices of engaging LGBTQ+ youth in sports and learning together in order to make their sports-based youth development programs more inclusive for all students. 

Supporting our efforts is a Youth Council made up of 13- to 18-year-olds from the LGBTQ+ community who convene to build community, learn leadership and problem-solving skills and advise our staff and board members on recruitment and program strategy. They come from underserved communities from all over the Los Angeles area and are working to create positive relationships with other queer youth and queer mentors. 

You specifically address the unique challenges faced by QGNC youth – how are you using sport to support this community? And what are some of the challenges you are seeing?  

We know the benefits that sports and physical activity can bring to youth. LGBTQ+ youth are at a higher disadvantage by not participating. By creating intentional programming, sports coaches can teach life skills and positive and healthy peer-to-peer relationships. We are currently seeing large numbers of students affected by isolation and depression; sports are a great tool to get youth off their electronics and out onto a pitch. For the second year in a row, Rainbow Labs is launching an LGBTQ+ Softball team with the Los Angeles Dodgers. We are excited to bring youth from east Los Angeles to learn more about sport with caring coaches. 

There are 21 states that have bans on transgender students participating in sports consistent with their gender identity. Though California isn’t one of them, what impacts are you seeing?   

An attack on students nationwide is an attack on our entire community. While we benefit from some privileges here in California, we are not always protected from harmful legislation that impacts youth here in California. We are watching the conversations at the Federal level on altering Title IX, which would allow schools to prohibit trans youth from participating in the competition portion of youth sports. We understand this is a compromise, but this kind of language and conversation continues to enforce that trans youth are only allowed to be visible and active in a portion of youth sports. They are not entirely accepted or allowed the same freedom and rights as other youth to participate widely in youth sports. 

How is Rainbow Labs celebrating Pride Month? 

We partnered with the Los Angeles Boys and Girls Club of Los Angeles Metro to host an LGBTQ+ Sports Day. There, we highlighted the strength and community that the Los Angeles philanthropic and sports community has in making progress for LGBTQ+ youth to feel included. We kicked off the day with a panel discussing the importance of including LGBTQ+ youth in sports. We then shifted to a day of activities and clinics for 100 youth at Challengers Boys and Girls Club rotating between sports stations staffed by LGBTQ+ Adult Sports Leagues and LGBTQ+ Volunteers.

What is the most important thing you’d like for the public and those in leadership positions to understand about creating inclusive spaces?

As Rainbow Labs staff, we are asked what the secret equation is to create inclusive spaces for LGBTQ+ youth and athletes. The answer is there is no secret sauce; when you create an inclusive space for all youth, then you will all be able to grow and thrive. LGBTQ+ youth are young people first; they want to have fun, make new friends and love commonalities with their peers. As youth development practitioners, our goal should be to have one more youth come to one more practice. Kids vote with their feet! 

The Rexona Breaking Limits Program in partnership with Beyond Sport includes a free digital training series with a module on LGTBQ+ inclusion. Click here to sign up to access.